


Can We Pretend?

by darlingjongin



Category: Babii, offgun
Genre: Best Friends to Lovers, Cottagecore, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, fake boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingjongin/pseuds/darlingjongin
Summary: Off and Gun are best friends, but Off loves to introduce the boy as his boyfriend to everyone. Of course, only for shits and giggles. But that is until one day his parents asked him to bring his so-called boyfriend with him to their annual family weekend and he has no other choice but to drag Gun to his elaborate fake plan to please his family.
Relationships: Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn/Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat
Comments: 23
Kudos: 398





	Can We Pretend?

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing:** OffGun
> 
>  **Tags:** fluff, fake boyfriends, best friends to lovers, dumbass and clown behaviour, cottagecore

‘Hey, this is Gun, my boyfriend’

Off Jumpol was and always will be, a son of a bitch. He was a playful motherfucker despite his ripe age of twenty-nine, but no one minded. In fact, everyone valued his excessive playfulness and loud nature. In cliché fashion, he was the funny one out of the group, the favourite who everyone turned to when in need of a laugh or distraction. He was technically also the leader, having the final say on where to eat and what to do when they couldn’t make their mind up for shit. They definitely needed an Off Jumpol in their life to keep themselves entertained. But, one person who was starting to get sick of his antics was none other than his favourite person in the world.

‘Stop introducing me as your boyfriend’, Gun sighed, closing his eyes when the waiter smiled awkwardly since literally no one asked Off to introduce his best friend to a stranger.

‘Just bare with me’, Off chuckled, winking at his best friend as he rested his arm lazily on Gun’s shoulder, the group settling in a small restaurant they found whilst driving around. Due to everyone’s differing jobs and time schedule, seldom did they find the time where they were all free, so when the opportunity arose, they immediately rented a house by the beach for the weekend.

‘Just make him your boyfriend and be done with it’, Gunsmile joined in their conversation, listening to the way Gun whined whenever Off pushed his boyfriend agenda, but of course, his response gained a different reaction. Gunsmile laughed when all he received was fake gagging noises from the two boys.

‘Gross’, Gun scrunched his nose as he looked at his best friend, ‘With him? No thanks’

Despite their group’s ongoing jokes about their so-called friendship, both Off and Gun had told them that they never saw each other in a romantic light, purely because they grew up together, and there was something wrong with knowing each other’s teenage rebellion and emo phase whilst trying to fuck each other. Off valued all of his past partners not knowing his weird phase of long black hair and an obsession for bass and band shirts.

‘Anyway, how’s work?’, Off asked Gunsmile, pouring himself a tall glass of water whilst they wait for their order, meeting their friend who they hadn’t seen in months due to his intensive job of travelling around the world.

‘Alright’, Gunsmile replied, ‘Although, I’m thinking of moving positions so I can stay in Thailand’

‘Don’t you love travelling?’

‘When I was young’, Gunsmile agreed, sitting back on his chair, ‘But I’m getting old and maybe it’s time for me to settle down. I’ve been in every major city and I’ve loved every single bit of it, but now I just wanna stay in one place’

‘Please don’t tell me you have a girlfriend’, Oab chuckled when he listened into Gunsmile, ‘It sounds like you’re fucking in love’

‘Am I not allowed to be?’, his response to Oab earned gains of cheers and oohs from the group as they started to poke answers out of them.

‘Damn, even Gunsmile’s in a relationship’, Off commented, laughing when he watched Tay grab Gunsmile’s arm, shaking him excitedly as he mentioned the girl he recently asked out on a date.

‘Well duh, we’re not in college anymore’, Gun replied, looking across the table, watching each and every one of their friends laughing, copious smiles and matured shining eyes. Some of them already had the golden band on their finger, others brought their partners. Over the years, they couldn’t lie, things have surely changed. They’ve seen Gunsmile stay up all night in the library with nothing but red bull keeping him going with greasy hair and a breath that smelt like death, and now he was a travel writer with a beautiful girlfriend and an apartment in Bangkok.

Tay on the other hand, did something they didn’t think he would do, and that was propose to the boy he used to hate in college. Off remembered his best friend ranting the whole night in their shared dorm about the bastard he was partnered with for his project and how he wanted to shave his head and push him down the stairs for his inability to meet up on time. Now he’s fucking him and planning on getting a mortgage.

‘How about you Off?’, they shouted when they finished making fun out of Gunsmile, turning their gaze to the boy sitting by the window, ‘When are you getting yourself a boyfriend?’

‘Who wants a boyfriend when I can live my life just the way it is now’, Off smirked, winking as he saw a waiter heading towards their table with their food. He smiled, reaching his hand out to take Mild’s who was sitting opposite him, sliding out her engagement ring, ‘Let me borrow this for a minute’, he whispered to her when she shouted at him, waiting until the waiter was next to their table.

‘My love, I have wished on every star in the sky to meet you one day and now I only wish for the stars in your eyes to answer this question that I’m about to ask’, he raised his voice, getting off his seat and kneeling in front of Gun who furrowed his brows and have him an odd look. It didn’t help that his voice was loud enough to gain stares from their neighbouring tables, their lips parted at the very action. Everyone knew what it looked like, a boy kneeling in front of another, ‘Will you marry me?’

‘Are you fucking insane?’, Gun hissed at him, leaning down to whisper at Off’s ears when he heard clapping and cheers from the entire restaurant.

‘Keep quiet and say yes’, Off whispered back, ‘We’re gonna get free dessert’

‘You’re proposing to me to get free food?’

‘Come on Gun, do you want chocolate or not?’, Off’s playful tone was starting to annoy him, but when he turned, he realised everyone was expecting an answer from him. His cheeks suddenly reddened, his skin burning up at the sudden attention and he couldn’t help but sigh and look back down at his best friend.

‘Fine’, he gave in, not wanting to gain more stares if he said no, ‘I do’

‘Congratulations to the happy couple!’, Tay, who knew exactly what Off was doing, decided to join in, clapping his hands and standing up.

‘Congratulations!’, strangers they’ve never met before threw in their words of support, which only made things awkward when Gun smiled, watching as his best friend stand up and twirl him around into a hug whilst slipping on Mild’s ring on his finger.

‘Your meals are on the house’, the waiter spoke out as soon as they settled back into their seats, ‘Chef’s orders’

‘Wooh!’, their friends cheered, gaining another round of applause from Off and his very manipulative spin at getting free shit. He does this all the time, and he always used Gun for his mischiefs, never anyone else. Not even his exes who would tag along with them. But instead of asking questions, Gun went along with it. How could he not? Off was his best friend, and no matter how much he hated his antics, he knew he created countless of unforgettable memories because of the bastard and he wouldn’t have made with anyone else.

* * *

‘Here you go’, Gun slid the ring off his finger, passing it back to its rightful owner when they were walking back to their rented beach house.

‘Thanks’, Mild smiled nonchalantly, slipping it back in on her finger.

‘You know, most people would be pissed at someone else wearing their engagement ring’, Gun pointed out, taking off his shoes as soon as they arrived at the beach, feeling the soft white shad beneath his feet, ‘You shouldn’t have let Off do that’

‘We all know how he is’, Mild giggled, pointing at the boy in question, watching Off push Tay and Oab into the water as he ran off, ‘He’s always been like that’

‘God, I wonder when he’ll ever grow up’, Gun sighed, hearing Off’s shrieks and screams even from this distance.

‘Do you really want him to?’, Mild asked curiously when she noticed Gun’s poker face, ‘You used to love the way he dragged you everywhere with him. I mean, he climbed to your dorm window and dragged you to a party in the middle of the night once. You told me that was one of the best nights of your life’

‘Yeah, when we were nineteen’, Gun rolled his eyes, crossing his arm and sitting on the beach whilst the rest of their friends rushed to the open bar next to their beach house, ‘I’m just scared that Off might not find a serious relationship with his attitude’

‘You should worry about yourself first’, Mild snorted, deciding to sit down next to Gun first before joining the rest of the group at the bar, ‘You’ve been single for almost five years now. Why haven’t you been on a date recently?’

‘I’ve been busy with work’, Gun shrugged, breathing in the salty smell of the ocean air, letting the swift winds brush his air back whilst he stared at the slowly setting sun.

‘Everyone’s been busy with work’, Mild said, leaning on her hands and letting her fingers sink into the warm sand, ‘But that didn’t stop us from finding love. I mean look at Gunsmile. The bastard travels for a living and he still found a girlfriend. What’s really stopping you Gun? Huh?’

The boy didn’t reply. He didn’t have an answer for Mild. Instead, he turned his gaze to the open bar at the end, where all their friends were shouting and making a mess whilst ordering beer. He watched Off raise his cocktail glass, screaming out lyrics to a song being played, his legs tanned from the sun.

* * *

‘Off, I heard you proposed to your boyfriend’

‘I beg your pardon?’, Off coughed as soon as he picked his mother’s call early in the morning, sitting up from his shared bed with his best friend. Alcohol was still inside his system – he could tell – he his head felt heavy, he had to lean it against the wall as he rubbed his eyes awake.

‘My colleague said she recognised you whilst she was on holiday. You proposed to your boyfriend!’, his mother’s shrieks of cheers drove him to wake up, ‘I didn’t even know you were in a relationship!’

‘Mum, I don’t think you heard correctly’, Off scoffed, rubbing his temples to get rid of the growing headache, ‘I’m sure she must’ve seen a doppelgänger or something’

‘Honey, I know you don’t like us prying into your private life, but this is big news! You should’ve told us before so we could welcome your boyfriend’

‘Like I said mum, I’m not engaged because I don’t have a boyfriend’, Off said again, laughing at the absurdity his own mother was spewing so early in the morning. His family knew how private he was with his life, even towards them, but that didn’t mean he would hide a fiancé from them. He wasn’t that big of a dickhead to his family.

‘Oh really? Then why did she send me a photo of you and your fiancé hugging?’, she said, her tone changing from excitement to annoyance over her own son.

‘What photo?’, Off asked but before he gained a reply, he received a ping from his phone, looking down to see his mother sending him a message over LINE. He opened the message and almost threw up when he recognised the restaurant and his outfit.

_That was yesterday!_

‘Uh… Mum, I can explain…’, he said, his voice turning from annoyed to nervous, ‘That was a jok-’

‘Look, you don’t have to explain. We’ve been assuming that you were in a relationship already’, his mum interrupted him before he could confess that the whole ordeal was a joke and he just wanted free dessert.

‘No, mum, listen to me, I’m not-’, Off squinted his eyes. His mum knew Gun and if she saw that it was Gun she was hugging, she’d realise it was all a big mistake, but the photo was taken facing him and Gun was under his embrace, which meant he could barely be seen.

‘Listen, now that you’re engaged, I was hoping you could introduce us to him over the weekend next week, your grandparents would be so happy to meet him’

‘Ah… Mum I’m not engaged. That photo… I mean we did that as a-’

‘Off darling, we gave you all the privacy you need, but we also want to know how your life’s been. Don’t you think it’s a perfect time for your family to meet your boyfriend? We’re worried about you. All you ever tell us is that you’re focusing on your career, but sometimes we wish you could do other things, you know? We just want you to be happy and we also wanna be part of that happiness’

‘Mum… I…’, Off groaned, banging his head against the wall as he looked down on the space next to him. Gun was still sleeping despite the noise, hugging the blanket, his eyes closed and cheeks pressed against the pillow, making his lips pout.

Off knew how hard his parents’ tried to give him everything and he felt guilty that he was never the typical son. He never visited every weekend nor did he introduce his partners to them. It felt like he was discarding them now that he has his own life and they must feel like shit being left behind. But that wasn’t the case. Off loved them too much that he was always working, wanting the promotion so he could save money to give them a bigger house, or to send it to his other account for a rainy day. He didn’t like to hear the sad tone in his mother’s voice and he knew she was going to be upset if she found out the real story of that photo.

‘It’s the annual family trip next week right?’, Off replied, and for whatever reason, he decided to give in, ‘I’ll bring him with me’

‘Oh, how wonderful! That would be amazing sweetie’

‘Sure thing mum’, Off sighed, ‘I love you’

‘Love you too darling!’, she told him before hanging up the phone, leaving Off with a hangover, sitting on the bed with his head leaning on the cool wall as the sun hits his eyes and makes his head spin. He felt the bed stir and he looked down to find Gun squirming. He does that when he’s about to wake up, squeaking a little as he stretched his arms.

‘You awake?’, he asked his best friend, watching as Gun slowly fluttered his eyes opening, laughing when he wiped the dried drool from his lips. Unlike with his past boyfriends, Gun never cared about showing his ugly side to Off, often not caring if he slept with his mouth open or even if he snore after a particularly tiring day.

‘Mhmm’, Gun murmured, still too tired to string coherent words together, but it was enough for Off to know as he crawled to the other side of bed, accidentally stepping on his legs as he walked off the bed.

‘Can I ask you something crazy then?’

‘What?’, Gun mumbled, his voice deep and hoarse from the sleep, turning his body and hugging the pillow as he watched his best friend scrambling around their room. He didn’t know where his energy was coming from since they spent the whole night partying and getting wasted and usually Off would spend hours in bed the morning after until his hangover disappeared. He watched as he scurried past their unpacked luggages, kicking their used clothes to the side as he looked around the room in search of something, ‘What’re you looking for?’

‘Uh…’, Off couldn’t answer Gun’s question, not yet anyway. Not when he was trying to string in the perfect way to ask him to marry him again for the weekend without being slapped by him. He looked at the table beside the bed, seeing the opened make up bag with scattered products along with empty glasses of beer and opened snacks. He cheered when he saw a packet of Haribo sweets. He quickly grabbed the gummy ring inside the packet, turning around and smiling sweetly at his best friend, ‘Can you do me a favour?’

‘What?’, Gun whined as he sat up, stretching his arms again, letting his shirt ride up a little. He closed his eyes, getting a headache due to the bright sunlight, but when he opened them, what he saw was something out of a dream – or a nightmare – he couldn’t quite tell, ‘What’re you going?’, he asked when he saw Off kneeling down beside the bed, presenting him with the candy ring.

‘Can you be my fiancé for next weekend?’

* * *

‘Ow! Gun Atthaphan I can explain!’

‘Good morning to them’, Mild whined when she heard Off shouting so early in the morning. The rest of the group had already woken up, sitting downstairs in the kitchen each with a cup of coffee.

‘What the hell did Off do know?’, Tay whispered, leaning on New’s shoulders. Despite taking painkillers, he still had a massive headache and he blamed his fiancé for letting him get wasted last night.

‘They didn’t get together, that’s for sure’, Oab walked back in from his morning swim, his hair damped and a towel wrapped around his waist, ‘I saw them passed out on the bed this morning still fully clothed’

‘Maybe we need to give up on the fact that they’re never gonna get together’, Mild shrugged when they started to discuss last night’s events, which wasn’t anything out of the norm. Off was glued to Gun by the waist, dancing only when he’s with Gun and letting himself get wasted. It started in college, each of them betting when their two friends were going to stop with the act and just fuck, but after almost a decade of guessing, they realised the two were never gonna be more than friends.

‘Or maybe Off needs a wake up call’, Oab replied, ‘I mean, the only reason why he hasn’t hooked up with Gun cos they’ve been friends since they were in diapers. He thinks Gun knows him too much’

‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

‘Say that to him, not me’, Oab laughed, ‘Off’s a private person and he loves keeping a bit of himself away from his partners, we all know that. Apart from Gun, no one truly knows who he is’

‘Hey, he tells me shit as well’, Tay begged to differ, raising his hand as if they were in a class, ‘He’s not very expressive, but if you choke him out, he’ll confess’

‘Fuck off!’, their conversation was interrupted when they heard Gun shouting again, is voice in a crescendo as they heard the door slam shut, making the whole house vibrate.

‘I just need you to come with me for the weekend’, Off shouted back and they waited until the two idiots make their way down to the kitchen so they could ask what the fuck Off did now.

‘I’m not gonna pretend to be your fiancé for the weekend’

‘Fiancé?’, Gunsmile widened his eyes at the word, almost spitting out his coffee.

‘Pretend?’, New repeated the word as well, turning to look at his own fiancé, ‘What the hell has your friend done now?’

‘Don’t look at me, he’s Gun’s best friend too’, Tay murmured, going back to his coffee.

‘Look, someone took a photo of me proposing to you yesterday and now she thinks I’m getting married’, the door to the kitchen slammed open and they saw Gun stomping his little legs in. His hair was still all over the place, wearing nothing but his shirt and boxers, trying to push Off away from him.

‘Just tell her you were joking’

‘I did, but she doesn’t believe me’, Off whined, trying to grab Gun’s hand, but the latter pulled it away, ‘Come on Gun, it’s just for the weekend’

‘Your parents know me!’, Gun turned to glare at Off, not caring that the rest of their friends are listening in, ‘What’re they gonna think if they think I’m your fiancé?’

‘We can say we broke it off because we think we’ll be better of as friends! They’ll believe that! They know you too well to even think that you’d want to marry me’, Off explained himself, ‘So, can you come?’

‘Suck someone else’s dick’, Gun bit back, going over to the counter to fix himself a cup of coffee.

‘Gun! Guuuuun!’, Off whined, stomping his foot as he sat on the floor like a five-year-old kid having a tantrum. ‘Guuuuuuuuuuun!’, he grabbed his best friend’s leg, hugging it tightly and refusing for him to walk away.

‘Off, let go’, Gun whined as he looked down, watching his best friend pouting, begging for him to agree, ‘I’m not lying to your parents’

‘Can one of you fill us in on what’s going on?’, New coughed out, being the only one with the guts to add himself to the conversation as he looked down at Off who was still hugging Gun’s legs, ‘Did he just ask you to marry him again?’

‘His parents think he got engaged yesterday’

‘What? Why?’, they all shouted at him.

‘Someone took a photo of me proposing to Gun yesterday and they think it’s real’, Off explained, earning a sea of laughter at him.

‘Of course’, Oab chuckled, walking over to pick an apple from the basket, looking down at Off, ‘You know, you keep introducing Gun as your boyfriend, sooner or later it was gonna bite you in the butt anyway’

‘I was just joking!’, Off whined, ‘I just need to make my parents happy for one weekend Gun. Please, I’ll do anything!’

‘No’, Gun replied, shaking his leg to get Off’s arms off him, but his best friend was just as strong as him.

‘Anything! I promise I’ll do anything you say!’, Off offered again, ‘I’ll run around the streets naked if you want me too!’

‘How’s that gonna benefit me?’, Gun shouted back, ‘I don’t want the whole world knowing my best friend is a lunatic’

‘How about that Jaylerr guy’, New clicked his fingers when a bright idea popped in his mind, ‘You said Off’s co-worker was handsome, right?’

‘Jaylerr?’, Off stopped shouting, looking up at Gun when he recognised the name, ‘You think Jaylerr’s hot?’

‘I mean… Everyone does’, Gun mumbled as he sipped his coffee. He remembered meeting Off’s colleague the first time a few weeks ago when he promised Off he’d pick him up after work to go to dinner.

‘Oops, but I already told him you were my boyfriend’, Off mumbled.

‘What?!’, Gun shouted the moment Off confessed.

‘Ah, that’s why he was looking at you funny when you tried to flirt with him’, New snorted the moment the pieces added together, remembering the sad attempt of Gun asking for his number only to be utterly rejected by a mortified Jaylerr.

‘Off Jumpol!’

‘Okay, okay! I’m sorry!’, Off replied, hugging his leg tighter, ‘If you do this, I’ll explain everything to Jay and even give you his number. He’s single right now!’

‘Is he?’, Gun asked. Off knew Gun was rethinking about it, so he pulled his strings and went with it.

‘Yes, he is. And once I explain everything, I’ll make sure he gives you a call for at least one date. You know I’m good at setting people up. Look, I set Mild up with her fiancé!’, he pointed at her and no one could deny. Off did introduce her to her boyfriend.

Gun wanted to kick Off in the face, and he was so close to doing so, but he didn’t know why he didn’t. Instead he sighed and closed his eyes because he couldn’t watch himself agree to something so stupid.

‘Fine, I’ll be your fiancé’, Gun gave him.

‘That was quick’, Gunsmile chuckled, raising a suspicious brow to the rest of the group as he sipped his tea.

‘Thanks Gun!’, Off smiled, leaning in to give his leg a kiss before standing up and ruffling his hair, ‘I promise I’ll owe you for the rest of my life!’

* * *

Gun walked out of his company building with Off’s car waiting for him at the front entrance.

‘What’re you doing here?’, he asked, tapping on the window and watching it roll down. The group had returned from their weekend getaway and a lot of them went back to work, which meant they weren’t going to see each other for a couple of weeks – or maybe even months. And Gun thought it would happen to him and Off too. They worked on the opposite sides of the city in different firms.

‘We’ve got a week to prepare. We need to make our stories straight’, Off explained as he took off his sunglasses – the one Gun bought for him for his birthday – beckoning his best friend to hop on the car.

‘We don’t need to do shit’, Gun whined, but he followed Off’s orders, walking around the car and opening the front passenger door. Gun remembered the annual family getaway that Off was forced to go every year since he was eleven and he felt like maybe over the passing days, Off would naturally just change his mind and back out of the stupid plan.

‘I fell for you first, okay?’, Off said to Gun which made him feel something out of the blue.

‘Huh?’

‘I fell in love with you first’, Off repeated himself, not knowing what those words implicated and how it suddenly made Gun feel like there were millions of butterflies trapped inside his stomach, ‘I started to look at you differently until one day I couldn’t take it anymore and asked you out’

‘And I just said yes?’, Gun asked, coughing a little as he stared at his best friend.

That’s up to you’, Off quickly turned to smile at him before fixing his attention to the road, ‘Do you wanna tell my parents you initially said no to save the friendship, or keep out the drama and just said yes?’

‘Well, we need to lie more if I said I initially turn you down’, Gun said, and he couldn’t believe he was actually going with the flow instead of slapping Off for dragging him into something so stupid, ‘So it’s better to say that I just said’

‘Well good’, Off snickered, ‘That’s one story out of the way’

‘Where are we going by the way?’, he asked when he looked out of the window to see his best friend driving further into the city and away from both their apartments, tall blocks and skyscraper passing by them with crowds of students and workers walking towards the station on their way home.

‘We’re going ring shopping’

‘I beg your fucking pardon?!’

* * *

‘What would you like sir?’

‘An engagement ring’, Off replied to the worker when they rushed inside a Tiffany’s. He practically had to drag Gun with him, holding his hands as the two suited boys found themselves in a jewellery store.

‘You’re seriously not going to spend thousands on a lie, right?’, Gun asked, trying to find the bit of sanity left in Off.

‘Think of it as my thank you present’, Off whispered back as they followed the worker to the front, ‘You can sell the ring and keep the money’

‘I don’t want money’, Gun replied, ‘I’m already getting Jaylerr’s number out of this, I don’t need your cash too’

‘You know my mum’, Off reminded him, ‘It’s gonna take a massive ring to persuade her we’re actually a thing’

‘This is stupid’, Gun kept on whispering, but now that they were inside the store, he couldn’t help but looked down at the glass cases, seeing the different diamond rings displayed in front of them. Despite in the end of their twenties, he still found it too young to marry, but Off was really pushing his imagination into the unknown when he started to think how it would feel to go ring shopping with his future fiancé. Would it feel useless and stupid like right now, or would he be excited for it?

‘Which one would you like sir?’, the female worker asked as she unlocked the cases of rings.

‘You pick’, Off poked Gun’s shoulder, ‘You’re gonna be the one wearing it’

‘Ah, so is he your fiancé?’, the girl asked with a smile.

‘N-’

‘Yes’, Off smiled back, ‘I made the silly mistake of proposing without a ring, so we’re here now to get one for him’

‘Oh, well congratulations’, she replied, smiling softly at Gun, ‘Well, we have a collection of different engagement rings depending on your preference. Would you prefer something simple and minimal?’

‘Uh, yes actually’, Gun nodded, looking at the bigger diamonds and finding it too flashy for his taste.

‘How about that one?’, Off pointed at a ring, a pear shaped diamond with a simple silver band. It was small yet elegant and sweet. Gun felt surprise. The ring was exactly his style, different from the typical yet still simple.

‘Uh… Yeah, sure’, Gun nodded. He watched as the lady took his had, measuring his finger before walking to the back and leaving the two of them alone.

‘Don’t you think you’re taking this too seriously?’, Gun tiptoed to ask Off, ‘We’re planning to tell your parents that we’re breaking it off soon anyway’

‘It’s just a ring Gun’, Off snickered, ‘All we need is a ring to show for the weekend then I’ll tell my parents after a few weeks that we broke it off. You just need to wear the ring for a weekend’

* * *

A weekend? It seemed longer than that. The pair left the store with the ring already on his finger, shining so brightly. Gun laid down on his bed, looking up at his hand and staring at the ring. God, it fitted him so well, but he needed to remember it still should look out of place.

Why does Off drag him into stupid shit? And the more important question, why does he let him? It just didn’t make sense anymore.

It’s like they couldn’t get away with each other no matter how much they tried. They didn’t even plan on going to the same college and they only found out when they both got accepted to the same one and decided to go together. They also didn’t discuss their future, but they ended up both majoring in law and sharing endless classes and seminars together.

It wasn’t until Gun thought he should probably work for a different firm than Off for his own sanity. Because it was getting insane. They lived together during college, he learnt how to cook for Off, the latter got his driving license first so he could pick him up and drop him off his internship. They had started to become too reliant on each other and Gun knew if he kept this up, he was going to reopen feelings he made sure to bury a long time ago.

If his sister found out, she was sure to make fun out of him until his death. She was the only person who knew anyway, so it would be more entertaining for her to watch him try to pretend to be Off’s fiancé. He was going to make sure no one in Off’s family was going to spill to his family in case this blows out of proportion.

* * *

**Bangkok; 2005**

Gun stood in front of his full length mirror, staring at the old suit he found in the attic whilst he was helping his mum clear the house. He found his dad’s old clothes and his mum was about to pack it up the charity back when he managed to save the old suit he wore for their prom. It was big on him, the sleeves going pass his hands and the shoulder pads making him look more like a box.

But it still looked well kept and clean after his mum washed it. He saw worn pictures of his parents’ prom night and he could imagine himself standing beside him best friend – but in a different setting.

‘I do’, he whispered suddenly, curious to know how it would sound like, smiling when he imagined Off standing in front of him in his own suit, smiling back at him, ‘I do, Off Jumpol’, he kept repeating the same words over and over again, feeling giddy, his stomach somersault until his cheeks began to redden.

‘What the hell?’

He turned around when he heard someone invade his room, his sister opening his door and staring at him.

‘Pim!’

‘Oh my God!’, she screamed as soon as she processed what she heard, ‘You love P’Off!’

‘Shut up and get out of my room!’, he screamed, grabbing the teddy bear from his bed and throwing it at his sister. ‘Get out!’

‘Marry me Off’, Pim started to mimic his voice, ‘Marry me! I love you!’

‘Get out!’

* * *

‘Quick question’, New asked when he helped Gun pack for the weekend, folding his clothes into a small suitcase. Tay’s fiancé lived in the same apartment block as Gun and he didn’t mean to, but because of that, he had gotten pretty close with him.

‘What?’, Gun asked as he walked back out of his closet, throwing in more clothes and jackets since they’ll be staring at a lakeside in the middle of the woods, so he knew it was going to get cold.

‘Is Off in love with you?’, he asked, making Gun trip over his own feet. The boy turned to glare at him, as if his question was absurd.

‘Of course, not’, Gun snorted, ‘You heard our conversation. I’m only doing this to get Jaylerr’s number’

‘Then what’s that ring doing on your finger?’, New asked, pointing at the elephant in the room which made everyone start thinking the moment they saw it on Gun’s hands, ‘That looks too expensive to be a prank’

Gun looked down on his finger, realising it wasn’t bare anymore and that he’d been showing it off all week. His coworkers are probably just as curious as his friends.

‘It’s a knock off’, he lied. He didn’t know what else to say, because if his friends found out it was real diamond, they would definitely jump into conclusions and make things worse, ‘Off picked a really good knock off, didn’t he?’

‘He did’, New sarcastically replied, ‘It almost looks too real’

‘Newwie, please’, Gun stopped folding his clothes, turning his gaze to his friend who looked at him suspiciously, ‘Off got himself into a mess and he needs me to get him out. I’m just doing my best friend a favour’

‘Best friend?’, New snorted, ‘You must truly be blind to think Off only sees you as a friend’

‘If he saw me as anything more, he would’ve asked me out a long time ago’, Gun rolled his eyes, throwing his spare shirt at New, ‘But he didn’t, because there’s nothing going on between us’

‘Alright’, Newwie raised his hand in defeat, standing up and making his way to Gun’s kitchen to fix himself a drink, ‘But you couldn’t have waited till you arrived at the lake house to put on that ring or are you just as excited at the aspect to be married to Off?’, his voice withered to a soft tone when he left the room, but Gun still heard what he said, looking down at his hand and seeing the ring on his finger. With Newwie’s words stuck in his mind, he slowly took the silver band off his finger. Newwie was right… The ring should’ve felt foreign and unusual, but within the second he put it on, it rested so comfortably around him, he forgot to take it off.

God, he was ready to kill Off if this weekend opened something he’d buried for so long. He just hoped he had the will power and logic to get through the weekend without doing something stupid.

* * *

The lake house was owned by the Adulkittiporn for decades and they have annually met together in the same house since. They were a family of travellers, most children finding a home outside of Bangkok or even Thailand, but they made sure that once a year, they would return to the lake house to catch up and spend some quality time with each other.

And it was exclusively family only.

So, no matter how many times Gun had heard Off talk about it, he himself had never been invited until now. And he forgot how special it was until Off parked his car just outside the house, seeing Off entire family already setting up a campfire.

‘Oh God’, Gun whispered when he saw Off’s older sister with her own family, sitting by the wooden bench with her new baby boy in her arms as she laughed as the boys attempted to carry more wood for the fire. He saw Nirin running around, chasing a lizard that was on the floor and he realised what mess he was about to get in. They’d all known him since he was a child and they were going to ask countless of questions to how they came to be, ‘I don’t think I wanna do this anymore’, he admitted, turning to stare at his friend, looking scared out of his ass.

‘Too late’, Off whispered, ‘It’s a five hour drive back to the city and we’ve only got one car’, he honked the car, gaining his whole family’s attention and it was too late for Gun to persuade Off to turn around and take him home.

‘Off!’, they all shouted his name and Gun stayed seated, watching Off leave the car and racing down to the front lawn which faced the lake, running to his niece who shrieked in excitement when she saw him. Gun could hear their voices, feeling his hands shaking. He had no other way out and he knew he just needed to survive this weekend, so he took one deep breath, taking off his seat belt and walking out of the car, shutting the door behind him.

‘Gun? What’re you doing here?’, Off sister asked as soon as she let go of her brother’s embrace and saw Gun walking towards them. She hadn’t seen her brother’s best friend in a long time, but not much as changed, in fact, if she was asked, she would still think Gun looked eighteen.

‘Oh, didn’t mum tell you?’, Off replied, combing Nirin’s hair when she stood next to him and hugged his leg, ‘She said to bring my fiancé with me, so I did’

‘Fiancé?’, she mumbled back to him with a raised brow, not really sure if her brother was serious.

‘Yeah’, Off nodded, laughing when his sister froze, probably taking a few minutes to process it all whilst she stared at Gun, slowly looking down to where a ring presented itself to her vision.

‘Wow, so it finally happened’, she whispered, smiling when the initial shock finally left.

‘What happened?’, Off asked.

‘Mum! Guess who Off’s fiancé is!’, his sister shouted, feeling like they were teenagers again as she ran up to her mother who had just finished preparing the rooms upstairs.

‘What is it darling?’, she asked again when she felt her daughter’s hands tug at her arm, dragging her to the front.

‘Gun Atthaphan’, she laughed, pointing at the two who stood awkwardly next to each other, ‘He actually proposed to Gun!’

‘Oh’, she said once she saw her son for the first time in months standing beside a familiar face.

Off quickly grabbed Gun’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he smiled back at her.

‘Oh’, his mother said again, this time realising the situation and staring at Gun with pure curiosity, ‘The two of you? Really?’

‘Surprised?’, Off asked.

‘A little’, she nodded, ‘I’m just surprised the two of you actually ended up together’

‘What do you all mean?’, Off asked, wondering why his family shocked yet they still saw it coming.

‘Oh, come on darling, we all knew Gun had a massive cru-’

‘Mum it’s so nice to see you again!’, Gun shouted as soon as he heard Off’s mum and he quickly ran over to give her a warm hug before she could finish her sentence, ‘How have you been?’

‘I’ve bee well darling’, she replied, huffing in shock from the tight embrace but stroking Gun’s back nonetheless, ‘Congratulations to the two of you. I’m sure the both of you are just so excited for the big day’

‘Ah yes…’, Gun replied, biting his lip guiltily, ‘Thank you for approving us’

‘Hey, at this point, I’ll approve anyone who Off brings home’, she joked, stroking his hair like how she used to when he was young, ‘I’m getting worried for him’

‘You don’t need to mum’, Off replied, walking over to them and leaning his arms around Gun, ‘I have him by my side’

‘Ew, don’t use this as a romantic retreat’, his sister joked with him, ‘Your whole family’s here’

Off and his sister, despite their age, will always act as if they were still teenagers, fighting and bickering to no end until their parents have to pull them by the ear and separate them from each other. Despite the raised voices, Gun found it sweet that their closeness hadn’t changed one bit, not even when his sister moved out of the city to raise her kids in a less busy environment.

‘It’s you who shouldn’t use it as a romantic retreat’, Off bit back as he walked back to the car to get their suitcases out of the boot, ‘Don’t force me to babysit for you!’

* * *

‘Gun, huh?’, his dad whispered when they made it to the living room, the two men standing by the door as they shared a drink, looking at the way his mum showered Gun, handing him snacks she made and drinks from the kitchen, ‘We thought it was someone from work’

‘Nah, I don’t like dating at work’, Off admitted, sipping his beer as he leaned on the wall, his other hand inside his pocket. He knew he had to lie this whole weekend, but he didn’t need to lie about everything. He had to reject a lot of suitors at his firm because he didn’t like the idea of dating a colleague. It was too awkward and he didn’t know where to draw the line from professional to personal.

‘How did he get through to you finally?’

‘Why does everyone keep saying finally?’, Off rolled his eyes when his dad joined in with the ‘lack of surprise’ with bringing Gun over.

‘All I’m saying is, how did that kid finally manage to get you to look at him?’

‘What’re you talking about? I fell for him first’

‘I beg to differ son’, his dad snorted as soon as Off replied to him, ‘Unless you fell in love with him when you were five, I highly doubt it’

‘Gun didn’t like me back then’, Off disagreed with his dad, sticking to his initial story that he came up a week ago, ‘I was the one who asked him out’

‘So, he didn’t even confess to you?’

‘You cant confess to someone you don’t like’, Off corrected him, ‘He just said yes for the sake of it and now here we are. Not so much as a sappy love story, but good enough right?’

‘You should ask that kid his side of the story’, he whispered, laughing at his oblivious son, ‘Because things aren’t adding up. That boy used to wait in our house just so he could sleepover there with you. The two of you weren’t out yet, but even we had started to suspect things’

His dad loved to joke with him about nonsense but even Off was starting to wonder if his dad was joking or not. Sure, they were really close in high school and sometimes Gun practically lived in his house, sleeping over for a whole week, especially when his parents were out of town or on a business trip, but he never thought much of it. It had always been like that since they were kids, so they didn’t think it would suddenly change when they were in high school.

‘Okay everyone, it looks like everyone knows, but I think my son should still announce it’, his mum stood up suddenly, clapping her hands for the rest of the family to make their way to the living room. She reached her hand out and held Gun’s, pulling him up the sofa and dragging him to where Off stood with his dad, ‘Go on darling’, she whispered to his son, winking at him as she pushed Gun to stand close to him, his back pressed against his chest.

Off instinctively rested his hand on Gun’s waist, looking around to see his grandparents sitting down and smiling widely at him with all his aunties and uncles standing around along with his cousins. It all looked a little too intimidating even for him, so he massaged Gun’s waist, comforting him a little.

‘Uh… I’m sure my parents already told everyone but… Yeah, I’m engaged’, he awkwardly announced and it sounded as anticlimactic as it could get with the way he stuttered. But the Adulkittiporns weren’t one to pass out the opportunity to make noise, so they all started cheering, clapping their hands and raising their glasses up.

‘Congratulations!’, they all shouted.

‘Hi, I’m Gun’, his best friend waved a little awkwardly. Some have already met him, cousins who spent the summer at their house and seeing Off hanging out with the short boy, whilst others saw him for the first time and wondered how Off could manage to snag someone so beautiful and sweet looking.

‘Welcome to the family darling’, Off’s grandma smiled at him from her chair, ‘I hope my grandson doesn’t give you too much grief’’

‘Nothing that I can’t handle’, Gun joked back and with a flip of a switch, his best friend managed to easily get along with his family members when they approached him to introduce themselves.

‘P’Gun’, Nirin tugged at his shirt, seeing Off’s niece running up to them whilst her parents prepared lunch.

‘What is it?’

‘If you’re gonna marry Uncle Off, does that mean you two kiss like mummy and daddy?’

‘Uh…’, Gun turned his head to look at Off, begging for help.

‘Well, yeah’, Off answered for him, smiling as he ruffled her hair, ‘That what people do when they’re in love’

‘But I’ve never seen you kiss P’Gun before’, she pointed out, ‘Are you sure you’re getting married?’

‘Well, we’re not your mummy and daddy, so you don’t have to see us kiss’, Off replied, playfully tugging at her ears but also warning her to shut up. But Nirin was her own person and she barely follows Off’s orders, so she continued asking questions.

‘How can we know if you love each other if you haven’t kissed?’

‘We have kissed, we just don’t kiss in front of people because that’s inconsiderate and rude’, Off swiftly replied to her, trying to end the conversation, but Nirin had her mother’s charm and she walked into the living room just at the right moment.

‘Off, just kiss your fiancé’, she shouted at him, winking playfully when Off glared at her, ‘It’s not like you’ve ever been shy in showing off your exes’

‘You just had to go there’, Off mumbled. He turned back to Gun, giving him a comforting smile, ‘Don’t worry, we don’t have to kiss’

‘Oooooooh, come on!’, Neen, his cousin, decided to join in with the bully, tapping on the coffee table, ‘You’re getting married yet you’re shy? Come on, how’re you gonna kiss the groom on your wedding day?’

 _Right. Wedding day._ To everyone, they were already planning on it. Off bit his lip and looked back at Gun with a guilty look.

‘Come on, just kiss!’, his whole family began chanting and just like that, Off was immediately chained to stand in front of Gun, awkwardly holding his hand.

‘Let’s just do it’, Gun whispered to him when he felt their pressuring eyes on them, his cheeks reddening.

‘I’m sorry’, Off replied as he slowly leaned in.

‘Just fucking do it’, Gun whined, closing his eyes as he leaned in too. He wanted to get it over and done with so they could head to their room and he could finally leave the dozens of questions and stares. He waited for Off’s lips to quickly press on his, thinking that the kiss would probably last less than a second.

But he felt something soft slowly press against his puckered lips and when he opened his eyes, he realised just exactly what he had allowed to happen. He felt Off’s hand tighten against his, both their eyes wide open as they stared at each other. Nothing happened, nothing that Gun was too worried about. In fact, Gun was glad that he didn’t feel anything when he kissed Off. It truly meant that he was over–

Then Off moved his lips. He turned his face and pressed their lips deeper, parting his mouth a little as he licked his lower lip. He suddenly felt heat rushing to his cheeks and his head began to spin when he watched Off close his eyes and continued kissing him. He also felt Off’s other hand rest so lazily on his waist, yet it felt natural, as if he knew it was supposed to be there.

Everything exploded when he impulsively decided to kiss back, parting his lips a little and feeling Off’s hot breath against him.

_Oh no._

* * *

**Bangkok; 2009**

Gun had just turned eighteen. He was the last person in their class to finally turn eighteen right before their graduation too.

‘Happy Birthday’, he heard his best friend call out to him as he entered the empty home room. Gun hated going out for lunch since he couldn’t stand the heat, so he stayed in their home room and used this time to read.

Off, who never spends lunch with him since he preferred playing football outside, decided to give some of his time to his best friend, buying snacks from the canteen before heading to where Gun was, sitting by the window and reading a book.

‘What did the canteen have?’, Gun asked when he put the book down, leaning back on his chair as he waited for Off to show off his purchase for his birthday. His best friend didn’t give him a present – as always – but he always made sure to buy him food which Gun preferred than useless teddy bear or a card.

‘Jelly!’, Off shouted excitedly as he dumped cups of jelly, on in different flavours, ranging from lychee to mango. Gun couldn’t help but laugh at his, watching as he sat on the seat next to him.

‘Come on, I bought every flavour so you can try all of it!’, Off said, giving him a small plastic spoon and grabbing himself his own jelly, ‘Take it as my birthday gift’

‘It’s my eighteenth birthday and you give me jelly?’, Gun scoffed, pretending to be upset, pouting his lips as he leaned his head and pressed it against Off’s shoulders, ‘You’re the worst best friend’

‘What else could I give you, huh?’, Off asked, poking Gun’s forehead playfully, ‘You’ve already got everything’

‘Well… Not everything’, Gun chuckled, digging into his jelly and slurping a spoonful, ‘I’ve never been kissed before’

‘Huh?’

‘Huh?’, Gun sat up away from Off, ‘Did I say that aloud?’, he asked and when heard Off laughing, he smacked his head and banged his forehead on the desk, burying his face away from Off who kept on laughing at him.

‘Well, I guess you don’t have that’, Off nodded, clutching onto his stomach as he continued to laugh at him, ‘But what’s that got to do with me?’

‘Shut up, shut up’, Gun kicked his feet under the desk, ‘I didn’t mean to say it aloud!’

‘I mean I haven’t been kissed either’, Off replied, wiping the tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he fanned his heated face.

‘Wait… You haven’t?’

‘Why do you act surprise? You’re my best friend. You would know if I did’, Off shrugged, opening a cup and biting into the jelly.

‘I just thought you did but you never told me’

‘I would always tell you everything. You’re my best friend’, Off replied, punching his shoulder playfully. Gun should probably feel privileged, but instead he felt burdened and a little disappointed that he had to carry the word friendship whenever he referred to Off.

‘Yeah, best friend’, he muttered as he looked down on his jelly, trying to hide the sad expression on his face.

‘And I guess as a best friend, I should probably give you an unforgettable present, shouldn’t I?’, Off replied when an idea sparked in his mind.

‘The jelly’s not unforgettable, but I guess it’s close enough’, Gun replied, not knowing that Off had something else planned.

‘No, I’m talking about your first kiss’, Off snorted, ‘Why don’t I be your first kiss?’

If Gun was still eating, he would probably spit out the jelly, or worse, choke on it and die when he heard Off’s suggestion. His eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he instantly turned to look at Off, staring at his expression and wondering if he was joking.

‘Don’t joke about that kind of stuff’

‘I’m not joking’, Off replied, ‘I haven’t kissed anyone and neither have you. Wouldn’t it be sweet if we were each other’s first kiss?’

‘No, not really’, Gun scoffed, ‘Our first kiss is supposed to be with someone we love’

‘Oh, come on, it’s just a small peck’, Off rolled his eyes, ‘We’re not gonna make out or anything’

‘But still… I’m your best friend’

‘Do you want the present or not?’, Off simply replied, waiting for Gun to make up his decision and when his best friend didn’t answer, he shrugged his shoulders and stood up to leave the room when he thought Gun had rejected his offer.

‘Wait!’, Gun said, standing up out of impulse and reaching his hand out to rest it on Off’s shoulders.

Just the touch of Gun’s hand on his shoulder was enough for Off to immediately turn around, concluding that Gun had probably changed his mind, leaning in and crashing his lips against Gun’s unsuspecting ones.

Gun immediately felt a thousand butterflies fluttering inside his stomach at the very notion of his best friend’s lips on his, his heart beating fast and his hands in a fist.

The kiss lasted no more than a second, with Off breaking away as soon as their lips touched. Gun looked at him, he saw his goofy grin and his playful eyes whereas he was still holding his breath, still not believing that his best friend and secret crush had just stolen his first kiss.

‘See, that wasn’t so bad’, Off replied, ‘Now you’ll always remember on your birthday that I was your first kiss’

* * *

‘Sorry about that’, Off finally got Gun alone in the kitchen whilst the rest of the family were singing karaoke in the living room. Gun had afford to do the dishes and Off naturally excused himself and followed his best friend, shutting the kitchen door behind him, ‘I didn’t think they’d force us to make out in front of everyone’

‘Don’t worry about it’, Gun replied, looking down at the sink and letting the bubbles soak up his hands, making his skin shrivel up.

‘You don’t look alright’, Off commented, ‘You’ve been avoiding me since’

‘Well, it’s not really everyday you kiss your friend’, Gun commented, trying hard not to show his face to Off.

‘What are you talking about? We’ve kissed before’

‘Once’, Gun splashed a little bit of water on his shirt when he dropped the cup he was washing, ‘When we were messing around in high school’

‘It still counts, right?’

‘Off, this is getting more and more stupid’, Gun admitted, ‘In fact, it was stupid to begin with. Why don’t we just tell them we’re joking’

‘To my grandma?’, Off reinforced what Gun was suggesting back to him, ‘Do you want her to have a heart attack in the middle of nowhere?’

‘You’re evil’, Gun turned to finally glare at him, kicking his leg.

‘I told you I’d make it up to you. You’d be having dinner with Jaylerr in no time, I promise’, Off reminded him of their deal and even though Gun was supposed to feel excited, he was starting to think this whole ordeal just want worth it.

‘Hey, if you want, I can sleep on the floor and you can have the whole bed to yourself’, Off whispered, leaning on the counter and watching him finish up the dishes, setting them on the rack to dry.

‘Yeah, whatever’, Gun shrugged again, his typical move whenever he doesn’t wanna keep up with the conversation and Off knew that, but he let Gun go, watching him leave the kitchen, leaving him behind to ponder what could’ve upset Gun about the situation. He knew the kiss might’ve been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t like they hadn’t done it before, but maybe there were some limits that shouldn’t be pushed.

‘Hey bro’, his sister walked in a few minutes after, carrying empty cups and bottles, throwing them all in the sink beside him, ‘Gun’s gone outside. He said he needed some air’

‘Oh’, Off simply replied, ‘Thanks’

‘It’s a little dark outside and there’s no signal’, his sister warned him, ‘You better go with him in case he gets lost or something’

‘Yeah, okay’, Off nodded, although he contemplated whether to follow his sister’s orders. If Gun needed a breather, he was probably trying to get away from him, so it would be stupid to follow him like a lost puppy.

Off knew how stupid he can get sometimes. He lived with himself long enough to be annoyed by his own actions and he questioned it sometimes. But he knew that’s just the way he was. He wanted to have a good time and sometimes that meant embarrassing results and a lot of apologising, but he had always thought Gun would be game with every suggestions he thought of. He always had been. Every high school prank, college mischief and recent drunk nights, Gun would be with him in a heartbeat and he was getting nervous that maybe one day Gun will hold back. He didn’t wanna do anything without his best friend, there was no fun in it anymore if Gun wasn’t by his side laughing at every antic they got up to.

‘You know, I was surprised that you hadn’t noticed Gun had a crush on you since you were kids’, his sister broke their comfortable silence when she began to wash the dishes, noticing that her brother was still leaning on the counter beside her.

‘People need to stop saying Gun had a crush on me back then’, Off rolled his eyes when his sister mentioned in again, ‘He didn’t’

‘He did’

‘He didn’t’

‘Okay then, tell me the real story’, his sister changed her direction of conversation when her brother was still acting ignorant, ‘When was it that you realised your feelings for him wasn’t purely platonic’

‘I don’t know’, Off replied, because truthfully, he didn’t know. Everything between them had been platonic, even the first kiss they shared when they were in high school was a playful gift he gave and he just never saw Gun in a different light.

‘Then why did you propose to him?’

 _To make our parents happy._ Off wanted to answer truthfully, but even in his own truth, hid a lie.

‘I just don’t think I can live without him, that’s all’, and that was the honest truth, no bullshit or antics hidden behind, if he could, he’d want to keep Gun all to himself without the nervous feeling that he was going to be taken away from him soon.

‘I felt sorry for Gun once’, she chuckled after he heard his brother’s reply, ‘When you came out to us in high school, we thought the first person you’d date was Gun. The whole family was shocked when you introduced someone different from us. It was a shock for us, but I knew it was more than a shock to Gun. He must’ve been upset’

‘What makes you think so?’, Off asked, ‘What makes everyone think that Gun liked me back then? I spent the most time with him and not once did he give me any signals that he did’

‘Sometimes it’s the people further away that can see the small actions that meant everything’, his sister pointed out, flicking his forehead after she finished washing the dishes, ‘Off, you mean the world to Gun. It’s not your fault that he had to hurt himself to get over you, but at least acknowledge that you were an idiot for not seeing that he liked you first’

The Adulkittiporn siblings, despite their age gap and differing life, still found the sincerity to real each other in and keep the other grounded when needed. Off might not appreciate now, but he knew his sister was only looking out for him and he had no choice but to listen to her, because apart from Gun, she was the only other person who knew him inside out.

* * *

Gun decided to stay close to the house, using his phone light to get rid of the darkness. He sat on the bench facing the lake, seeing the silhouette of the trees and branches, the sounds of cricket chirping and making him feel less alone.

He knew that he was being brutal on Off for shifting all the blame on him when he could’ve just refused to kiss the latter. But the senseless feeling came back and he didn’t know what to do with it. He felt like he was back in high school, sweaty palms, wide eyed gaze and reddening cheeks as he felt his lips after his first kiss.

It wasn’t Off’s fault, but he still couldn’t blame him for everything.

‘You’re not scared a ghost is gonna show up and drag you away?’

Speak of the devil. Gun turned around and saw his best friend’s silhouette approaching him, stones crunching at his every step until he found himself sitting beside him.

‘It’s better than staying inside. Your family loves to joke’

‘Now you know where I got it from’, Off chuckled, leaning on his legs as he watched the branches dancing with the wind, feeling the cold wind and breathing in the fresh air. Despite the darkness, he still found the lake beautiful.

‘Next time, can we not kiss?’, Gun asked when the silence took over them. He wondered why Off wasn’t starting the conversation since it was usually him who got down to the root of the problem. Gun got used to waiting knowing that Off would reach out to him first.

‘Yeah, I’ll tell them not to pester you into doing anything you don’t want anymore’, Off nodded and once they had agreed, another silence flooded between them and for the first time ever, it felt awkward between them. It was a feeling he’d never felt with Off before and it was slightly scaring him.

‘My sister told me you had a massive crush on me in high school’, Off pointed out and his tone was playful, ‘I mean, it’s stupid but my whole family seemed to think it too’, his chuckle that came afterwards was slightly forced, as if begging Gun to agree with him that his family’s assumption was absurd and stupid. But it created a different effect on Gun.

‘Actually I did’, Gun said, which left both of them shocked. Gun bit his lip and avoided Off’s eyes which turned quickly to gaze on him. He promised himself he would never reveal that part of his feelings, but with Off’s playful tone, he just wanted to prove him wrong, ‘It was just a crush though and it ended pretty quickly’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Come on Off’, now it was Gun’s turn to laugh it off, playfully punching Off’s shoulder, ‘It was a long time ago’

‘Why didn’t you say?’

‘I wasn’t going to ruin our friendship for a stupid crush’, Gun snorted, ‘Would you?’

‘You know me’, Off replied, ‘Of course I would’

‘What?’

‘You’ve seen me do stupid shit’, Off defended himself, ‘If I was in your position, I would’ve dropped everything and asked you out within a heartbeat. You know me well enough to know I don’t think about the consequences’

Gun was surprised by the answer, but he was also upset. With how long they’ve kept up their friendship, it just reminded him that Off did in fact, only see him as a friend and nothing more. Otherwise he would’ve practiced what he preached and asked him out a long time ago.

‘Right’, Gun nodded, letting his legs swing, his feet barely reaching the ground with how tall the bench was, ‘Well, I guess you and I are wired differently’

‘I guess so’, Off nodded. He knew his sister was going to give him the biggest ‘I told you so’, but he didn’t care about that. Right now, he was starting to wonder whether what he’s been doing had been hurting Gun more than he’d show to him. The idea to pretending to be engaged, added onto the fact that he always introduced him as his boyfriend must’ve annoyed Gun, ‘I’m sorry’, he finally said to his best friend, ‘I’ll tell my parents we’re not really together tomorrow’

‘What? Why?’, Gun asked, surprised at Off’s change in behaviour.

‘I don’t wanna hurt you’, Off replied, ‘And if this is reminding you of the time you felt like that back in high school, then I’ll stop. I’ll stop everything and I won’t pester you anymore’

‘Urgh, God this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen’, Gun whined, closing his eyes for a moment, ‘I didn’t want you to start changing yourself around me. I don’t want you to avoid me like the plague cos I once felt something for you’

‘But, even you have to admit, this is reaching your limit, right?’, Off asked, ‘I can take my mother’s wrath any day. I don’t want to be the reason why you’re sulking’

‘No, it’s just for the weekend’, Gun replied, ‘We’ve only got two more days left then promise me you won’t drag me into anymore of this bullshit. Okay?’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah’, Gun said, standing up and wiping his shorts from the dust and moss, ‘And you’re still sleeping on the floor tonight’

‘Okay’, Off smiled at him and with that, the awkward tension between them slowly disappeared as they headed back into the house to join the rest of Off’s family.

* * *

‘When did you start having feelings for me?’

‘Off, shut up and go to sleep’, Gun replied as he snuggled in the blanket, taking the whole bed to himself whilst Off made himself a makeshift bed of blankets and pillows by the foot of the bed. The lights were closed and they were in absolute darkness. The house was finally quiet after the whole family called it a night, but even if it was late, Off couldn’t find himself to fall asleep.

‘I’m curious’

‘Well, you don’t have to be, because I can’t remember’, Gun replied, turning his body, hugging the pillow next to him. Their window was open and he felt the chilled wind entering their room and he wondered if Off was cold.

‘Then when did you stop having feelings for me?’, Off kept asking, clearly not dropping the topic, but how could he? He just found out his best friend once had a crush on him and everyone knew but him. Even his unobservant father snorted at his stupidity and for a minute, he also felt dumb for not knowing.

‘Probably during senior year’, Gun said, ‘You started dating someone else and so did I’

‘Pak right?’, Off chuckled when he remembered Gun’s first boyfriend, ‘He was in my computing class’

‘You remember him?’

‘How could I not?’, Off snorted, crossing his arm and looking up at the ceiling, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness and seeing the small cracks, ‘He was loud. He loved showing you off, kept on reminding everyone that he was dating Gun Atthaphan from Class 3B’

‘You never told me if you approved of him’, Gun whispered, reminiscing of their young self and their stupid decisions.

‘I’m your friend, not your mum. You didn’t need my approval so I didn’t give it to you’, Off answered, ‘Plus, he was funny, so we didn’t mind him hanging around with us after school’

Ironically, both Gun and him started dating other people nearing the end of their senior year, right after they shared their first kiss with each other. There was no correlation. Off just wanted to know what it felt like to be in a relationship and in his impulsive fashion, he asked out the first person who showed at interest in him, which was a boy he shared P.E classes with. A couple of weeks later, he found out Gun had started dating too.

‘Is that why you never asked me what I felt about Toy?’, Gun randomly asked, also remembering Off’s first boyfriend.

‘Why? Did you not approve of him?’

‘Well, he was nice’, Gun recalled, not remembering much since Off only dated him for two months, ending it right before their graduation, ‘But he was slightly possessive. He only wanted you to hang out with him’

‘That’s why we broke up’, Off explained, ‘He wanted me to choose between him or my friends. Obviously I chose you guys’

‘Of course, you did’, Gun chuckled, smiling to himself. Even if they were just friends, Gun preferred it because Off would always choose his friends over anything, which meant Off chose him and he could definitely settle for that.

‘I’m sorry for not knowing’, Off whispered, a little nervous but his statement was still heard by the boy on the bed.

‘It’s alright’, Gun replied, ‘I didn’t show it to you, so how could you have known?’

‘True’, Off laughed.

‘Goodnight, Off’

‘Night Gun’

* * *

The morning came sooner than expected, the specs of gold fluttering into their room with the sounds of birds singing waking the world up. There were no other noise, no honking of cars or shouting of sellers walking past the street, everything was still yet slowly waking up at the same time.

Gun had never slept in such a peaceful state before. He didn’t even hear his phone ringing since there was no signal and no one could get to him.

But he was in the Adulkittiporn house, so of course such peace would end as soon as it started.

‘Off?! Gun?! Honey, I made breakfast for you!’, Off’s mum started shouting from across the hall, heading towards their room with a tray of homemade dishes and two cups of coffee.

Gun whined a little, hearing the voice but finding no sense of energy to get up. He wanted to fall back asleep and pretend he didn’t hear it. He was sure Off could entertain his mum without needing him awake.

‘Good morning to the newly engaged!’

Engaged. Yes. _Engaged?!_

Gun immediately sat up on the bed, his head spinning from the sudden action as he looked beside him to see an empty space.

‘Shit’, Gun hissed as he got up from the bed, almost falling off as he tried to get to his best friend who was still sleeping so soundlessly, ‘Off, wake up and get on the bed’, he shook him hard.

‘Mhhm’, Off whined, trying to squat Gun’s hands away from him, ‘Five more minutes’

‘Off, your mum’s gonna be here any second and she’s gonna wonder why you’re sleeping on the fucking floor’, Gun explained to him, freaking out as he tried to lift Off, dragging a half asleep idiot towards the bed before the door opens, ‘Just get on the bed now! Or we’ll both be killed’, he said, kicking Off one last time which was the last straw as Off cursed under his breath, crawling on the bed next to him with his eyes still closed.

‘You’re so extra’, Off muttered, going back to sleep instantly as soon as his head hit the pillows.

‘Just act normal’, Gun whispered to him, fully awake now as he tried to straighten their blanket, making it look like they’d both slept on the bed for the whole night.

‘You act normal’, Off whispered back, stretching his arm out to grab something to hug, ‘You’re the one acting weird’

‘Get off me’, with his eyes closed, Off didn’t know that he had grabbed Gun instead of a pillow, resting his cheeks on Gun’s back as he squeezed him into a warm embrace, ‘Off, your mum’s coming, get off’

‘You want me on the bed, but now you want me off’, Off whined, ‘Make up your mind Gun’

‘I want you to be on the bed, not on me you fucking-’

‘Good morning!’, Off’s mum finally opened the door to their room.

‘Good morning’, Gun greeted her back, faking a smile as he tried to get Off’s arms off him under the sheets, watching as she placed the tray of food on the table beside the bed, ‘How are you?’

‘I’m good honey’, she smiled, ‘I’m sorry for waking you early. I’m an early bird and I just wanted to cook you guys a meal once you wake up’

‘No, it’s fine’, Gun replied, trying to sit up, but Off’s arms only tightened around him, making him huff at the action, ‘Sorry, we’re still pretty bad at waking up early’

‘Don’t worry about it’, she smiled, looking down to see her son clinging onto Gun, making her laugh. She walked over towards them, stroking her son’s hair which were buried on Gun’s side, ‘He still acts like a kid, doesn’t he?’, she joked, ‘I’m sorry he could be a lot, but you know that right?’

‘Yeah I do’, Gun replied, ‘I know it all too well’

‘I’m glad you still chose him though’, she replied, ‘Honestly, the initial shock surprised me so I couldn’t tell you how grateful I was for giving him a chance. But now that Off finally got around with his feelings, I’m glad you decided to give him a chance. Took him long enough to reciprocate, right?’

‘Right’, Gun nodded, but he felt guilty for agreeing with her, because his feelings are still not reciprocated.

‘Anyway, I’ll let you to lovebirds have this morning to yourself’, she smiled, reaching her hand out to stroke his hair to, combing it back before squeezing his cheeks, ‘If you need us, we’ll be outside setting up the barbecue’

‘Okay’, he replied, ‘We’ll join you guys soon’, he watched as she walked back to the door, leaving them alone again so Gun can breathe a sigh of relief, leaning his head back on the headboard and looking down at Off who was still asleep, his arms still wrapped around him.

‘You’re so annoying’, he whispered to his best friend, flicking Off’s forehead before kicking his leg.

‘Ow’, Off whined, yet his eyes were still closed.

‘Get up and eat breakfast’, Gun ordered him, tugging himself out of Off’s grip as he got off the bed, ‘We’ve got a long day ahead of us’

Off finally fluttered his eyes open, rubbing it together and seeing Gun walking towards the table. He couldn’t help but smiling as he watched the boy lift his leg up as he sat on one of the chairs, digging into his mum’s meal with his bed hair. He was only wearing shorts and an oversized shirt he probably stole from his luggage, but he looked cute.

He stayed in bed, leaning his head on his hand as he continued to watch Gun eat breakfast. There was a comfortable silence between them. It made him think of what he said to his sister, how he didn’t think he could live without Gun. It was an honest answer, one he didn’t think much of, but with Gun’s sudden confession, his answer meant something more now.

Gun didn’t wanna live without him too, cos he gave up his feelings for him. More than feeling privileged, he felt guilty. Gun had to change the most to keep their friendship and maybe it was his turn to change.

‘Are you gonna eat or not?’, Gun shouted at him when he showed no signs of getting up, ‘Because I’ll just finish everything if you don’t come’

‘Alright, alright’, Off chuckled, finally stirring awake and getting off the bed. They spent the rest of the morning in silence, eating the homemade meal and looking out the window to see the sun streak through the branches.

They were in their own world, a bubble away from the world and Off knew he could use that in his advantage, chewing on his toast and stealing glances at his best friend.

* * *

‘What’re you doing?’, Gun asked when he felt Off’s hand grab his wrist, dragging him out into the woods and away from his family, ‘We’re supposed to be helping them get ready for lunch’

‘We just finished breakfast’, Off snorted, ‘Let them cut the wood and set up the campfire themselves’

‘Off…’

‘Oh, come on, they won’t be mad at us’, Off replied, ‘Let’s go’

‘Where are you taking me?’, Gun whined, but he allowed himself to be dragged by Off, as usual. They walked side by side, leaving behind small crunches of fallen leaves beneath their shoes, the only sound that could be heard between them once they’ve separated from Off’s family. But there was something rhythmic in their motion, no matter their differing stride, their footsteps always seemed to match.

‘My sister and I used to run away from the adults sometimes’, Off finally explained, his eyes scanning the small path into the woods, one which he remembered marking with his sister, like Hansel and Gretel mapping their way back home, ‘We were both in the scouts back then, so we got really good at building makeshift tents and treehouses so we decided to make one’

‘I’m sure it would’ve been crushed by now’, Gun murmured, but Off turned to smirk at him.

‘Yeah, but my sister and I grew up and we kept on fixing the treehouse every year we come back until my sister had enough and hired a crew to reconstruct it with better wood and long lasting metal’, he explained as he pointed at one of the tree which had a scarf wrapped around in, stained from the rain and moss, but still alive.

Gun saw it and once he did, they made a turn away from the path, walking pass the scarfed tree where it directed them to a treehouse above a wide oak tree.

‘Woah’, he breathed out as soon as he looked up. The treehouse in question was humble in size, unevenly placed and rested on one of the big branched on the trees. He could tell it had continuously been constructed over the years, uneven wood nails on top of each other, yet in it’s imperfection lied something beautiful. If Gun could define the small house floating in the tree, he would think of time, and how the branches wrapped itself around the makeshift house, leaves ranging down on the walls, creating a waterfall of green ivy which cascaded all the way down to the bark of the oak tree.

‘Are you good at climbing?’, Off asked as he grabbed onto the rope which was tied securely on the side of the treehouse. Off started laughing when Gun glared at him, knowing a city boy wouldn’t know a thing or two about climbing trees, so he started first, pulling his weight up with the rope as he climbed the tree. It only took him a couple of minutes until he reached the top, his feet jumping on the wooden floorboards, letting the dust fly around him, ‘Hold onto the rope, I’ll pull you up!’, he shouted down at Gun, who did as he was told.

Gun’s weight was something Off was used to, so often he would find himself carrying Gun home during a drunk night out or one time he had to carry Gun to the hospital when he found the boy bedridden, so pulling him up was a piece of cake for him.

‘You okay?’, he asked after he hoisted him up, Gun landing on his feet, holding onto him for balance.

‘Mhhm’, Gun nodded, breathing a sigh of relief after he found security. He followed Off inside, bending down a little as he looked around the small room, ‘Did you sister visit recently?’, Gun asked, in shock that everything still looked immaculately decorated. There were curtains which were stained, but still hung neatly above the windows, the small table had dust but small action figures and cups were still placed on it.

‘She said Neen came over with her boyfriend to visit it a couple of weeks ago’, Off said, watching as Gun looked around in awe. He noticed the way his eyes flickered like pockets of sunlight were hidden inside them, golden hues that shone brighter whenever the sun hits it. He sat on the floor and crossed his legs, watching Gun explore the small treehouse he made with his sister so long ago.

‘You know, when I was young, I had an argument with my mum whilst on the drive here’, Off told him, a memory that suddenly presented itself to him, ‘She didn’t allow me to invite you for the summer and I almost cried begging her too. I wanted you to help me rebuild the treehouse’

‘I won’t be much help’, Gun chuckled once he finished exploring, sitting down beside Off. They faced each other, with Off leaning on the wall, ‘This looks good already’

‘Yeah, I guess so’, Off nodded, looking up at the shelves that were nailed in, something he added when he was much older and he was allowed to use the hammer. There were frames placed on the shelves, small boxes which consisted most probably of jewellery his sister forgot to take back.

Gun saw it too, the photos of their family, seeing Off when he was still young hugging his sister as they posed for the camera.

‘What’s that?’, he pointed at another box which was placed on the highest shelf.

‘I don’t know’, Off shrugged, standing up to grab it, ‘Probably one of my sister’s music boxes’, he explained as he opened it, but no noise came out. It turned out, it was just a regular box, hidden inside were nail cutters, scissors and needles pinned on a small ball of cloth, ‘This must be when she used to sew’, Off explained, about to close the lid when he found nothing interesting inside, but that was until he saw another Polaroid hidden at the bottom.

_‘Sis, have you seen my photo?’_

_‘What photo?’_

_‘The photo of me and Gun. Have you seen it? I can’t find it anywhere!’_

_‘You must’ve left it at home’_

_‘No! I remembered bringing it!’_

_‘How do you know? You probably just forgot’_

_‘No! I brought it so I wouldn’t miss Gun! And now it’s gone’_

‘Woah’, Off gasped at the surge of nostalgia waving through him as he saw the stained photo of him and Gun. They were still in elementary school, in their school uniform and posing in front of a statue during their field trip. This was the time when they were still the same height, two small boys walking around the museum hand in hand, ‘I forgot I used to love holding your hands’, he chuckled as he passed the photo to Gun who curiously stood up next to him, looking over his shoulder.

‘Oh my God’, Gun smiled when he recognised the photo, taking it in his hands, ‘This was ages ago. I can’t believe it’s been sitting here’

‘My sister must’ve hidden it, the little brat’, Off laughed, ‘She always loved teasing me’

‘Why would she hide it?’

‘Because I used to take it everywhere with me’, Off explained, ‘I didn’t wanna miss you, so I would pack that photo whenever we left for the summer here’

Gun looked back at him with curious eyes, his smile fading for a moment and this time, Off knew why.

‘Is your heart fluttering?’, Off teased him, poking his stomach, ‘Are you starting to have feelings for me again?’

‘You wish’, Gun bit back, punching him back and passing the photo back to him, ‘God, you’re so full of yourself. I told you it was just a small crush’

‘Alright’, Off raised his hand in surrender, smiling when Gun chose to sit next to him on the floor again, the two of them just staring out into the forest. They could still see the lake from a distance, the water mirroring the blue skies.

‘Would you have said yes though?’, Gun suddenly asked, looking down to play with the ring on his finger, the tear shaped diamond shining every time the sun hits it.

‘Said yes to what?’

‘If I had confessed back then and asked you out’, Gun didn’t know why he was asking the question. His biggest what if was buried a long time ago and he had no plans of ever truly knowing what could’ve been because he was content with what they are now. But he couldn’t lie to himself, he’d been wondering about the old question recently.

‘You promise you won’t kill me?’, Off whispered when he gave a second to think about it, whispering in Gun’s ears and making the latter curious.

‘Why would I? What’s your answer?’, Gun asked, hitting his head.

‘I mean, of course, I would’ve said yes’, Off laughed, hitting him back, but his answer once again made Gun freeze, his hand in midair, just about to hit him back but his laughing stopped and his eyes widened.

‘You would’ve what?’

‘Yeah’, Off repeated again, ‘I would’ve said yes’

‘But… But you don’t have feelings for me’, Gun said.

‘But you’re my best friend’, Off shrugged, ‘Surely I can make an exception for you’

‘So, you would’ve said yes out of pity?’, Gun furrowed his brow at Off’s nonchalance in his answer, feeling more angry than relieved.

‘I never said that’, Off raised his brow at Gun’s sudden rage, ‘I said I’d make an exception for you’

‘That’s basically the same thing?’, Gun scoffed at him, folding his arm, ‘You would’ve said yes for the hell of it, not because you reciprocated my feelings, which means you pity me’

‘I don’t know how you manage to jump onto that conclusion’, Off replied to him, ‘But I said I would’ve said yes because it’s you. Because I know that I would fall for you too if that’s the direction you wanted out relationship to go’

Gun still continued to glare at him, but he didn’t reply, his expression still harsh and bitter as he stood up.

‘I don’t want you to have feelings for me cos you feel obligated to keep me around. I would rather you reject me straight away’, he stood up and stomped out of the treehouse, sneezing as he left.

‘Where are you going?’, Off shouted at him, ‘You know you can’t get down without me’

‘Shut up’, Gun shouted back, grabbing hold on the rope and looking down on the ground.

‘Gun, come on, let me hope you. You might get hurt’, Off sighed, reaching his hand out to hold Gun’s, but his best friend squatted it away.

‘I can do things without you, thank you very fucking much’, Gun shrugged his help. He’d seen the way Off climbed up, so he imitated it, holding onto the rope as he jumped down, letting his feet rest on the bark every few seconds.

‘Be careful of rope burn!’, Off shouted, watching as Gun slid down like he was a firefighter down a pole rather than holding onto the grips of a harsh rope, ‘Jesus, Gun!’, he shouted again, grabbing the branches and climbing down the tree faster than Gun, his feet landing on the ground and running up to him.

‘Shit’, Gun whined when he let go of the rope, seeing his reddened skin.

‘See, I told you’, Off sighed when he saw blood, ‘Come here’, he grabbed his wrist, dragging Gun back towards the lake house.

‘Get off me’, Gun tried to get away, but his best friend didn’t let go of him.

‘Look at your hands’, Off said, ‘It’s gonna get infected if you leave it’

They arrived back at the lake house as quickly as they left. They could hear Off’s younger cousins and nieces playing by the back, kicking a football around as the adults chattered around the campfire. The whole family ignored them as Off raced into the house, walking to the kitchen where he knew his grandma hid a first aid kit.

‘You shouldn’t be climbing on your own if you don’t know how to’, Off told Gun off as soon as they arrive in the kitchen, forcing him to sit down on the chair.

‘Don’t even try to act nice’, Gun whispered, trying to get his hands away, but he knew it was feeble, so instead he just watched Off tend to his hands, pouring alcohol all over his palm whilst he wipes the blood off the skin. Gun hissed at the action, whining a little but Off just continued, bandaging his hands.

‘I meant what I said’, Off replied, ‘I wouldn’t have said yes because I pity you, but because I know it would’ve been fun, and you know me, I go wherever there’s fun’

‘Being with me wouldn’t have been fun’, Gun said, ‘There’s a difference between friendship and relationship. We would’ve had to act different with each other from then on’

‘How would you know?’, Off asked, kneeling in front of him as he finished caring for Gun’s hands, ‘You never asked me, so I guess you’ll never know’

Gun wanted to kick Off for acting playful, even in their most intimidate moments. But instead, he looked down on his bandaged hands and found something missing.

‘Shit, where’s my ring?’, he squinted his eyes when he found his ring finger bare, his engagement ring long gone.

‘Ah, you must’ve dropped it whilst going down the tree’, Off replied once he looked down on Gun’s hands. He didn’t even notice it when he was wrapping his hand, but once he did he felt Gun’s rush of worry.

‘Shit, fuck’, Gun stood up, about to run out of the kitchen.

‘Where are you going?’, Off reached his hand out and forced Gun to sit back down.

‘We need to look for it. That thing costed thousands’

‘It’s fine, I got insurance’, Off reminded him, ‘We could get another ring and you can sell that once we get back’

‘That’s not the point’, Gun said to him, ‘That ring’s mine’

‘Gun, I-’

‘Oh hello. Am I interrupting something?’, the kitchen door opened and they both turned their head to find someone else walking in the room.

‘Grandma’, Off stood up, bowing his head to her, ‘How are you, do you need anything?’

‘I just needed a breather’, she replied, ‘Things were getting a little loud outside’

‘Yeah, even we can hear them from here’, Off chuckled, walking over to the fridge to get her a drink. She sat down beside Gun, staring at her grandson with sheer joy. Out of everyone, Off was her favourite. She knew she shouldn’t have favourites, but Off was someone she adored, for his humour but also care and she couldn’t wait to see him start his own family.

‘I’ve heard a lot about you’, she turned to her grandson’s happiness, reaching her hand to rest it on his, ‘my daughter’s been talking about you. Looks like you two grew up together’

‘Yeah’, Gun nodded, smiling back at her as Off placed a drink on the table beside her.

‘And was it true you used to fantasise about marrying my grandson?’

‘How did you know that?’, Gun almost choked, turning red and avoiding Off’s eye contact.

‘Your mother told my daughter that when you were a boy, you would wear your dad’s suit and pretend to have a wedding with Off’, she giggled, finding the story cute, making him adore Gun even more, ‘They said you looked cute’

‘Uh…’, Gun coughed a little, holding his breath and hoping Off wasn’t listening, but the bastard was in the same room, so every word she spoke he could probably hear.

‘Now you can finally have that wedding’, she continued, squeezing his cheeks, ‘And don’t you worry, we’ll let you do whatever you want for the ceremony. It’s your day anyway’

‘Haha’, Gun faked a laugh, feeling more uncomfortable for getting her hope’s up when he knew it was a lie.

‘Mum!’, Off heard him mum calling for his grandmother out in the garden, leaning on the fridge and crossing his arms.

‘Grandma, you better get going before my mum has a heart attack’, Off chuckled, winking at his grandma.

‘God, I hope they stop talking about stocks and shares when I get back there’, she sighed, drinking her water and realising Off must’ve mixed alcohol with it, making her laugh when her grandson winked back at her again.

‘I thought you’d need it’, Off smiled.

‘Thanks son’, she winked back, standing up and patting his back, ‘Have fun with your fiancé’

‘And have fun back there’, Off replied, ‘Good luck Grandma’, he chuckled when she rolled her eyes and walked back to where her mother was waiting for her. But that left Off and Gun alone in the kitchen again, with Off staring at Gun with his arms still crossed.

‘Small crush, huh?’, Off said with a playful smirk on his face.

‘Don’t’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever faked a wedding for any of my ‘small’ crushes’, Off said, biting his cheeks to try and stop himself from laughing.

‘Do you want me to kill you in your sleep?’, Gun growled, threatening him as he stood up.

‘Look, you’re being a little vague with this so-called crush and I’m only trying to find some answers’, Off mentioned, watching Gun storm out of the kitchen and following him into the living room, ‘One minute I thought you’ve never saw me as anything more than friend and in just twenty four hours, I found out you’ve had a crush on me _and_ pretended to marry me. I mean, I thought I was dramatic but-’

‘Off, shut up!’, Gun shouted before he could finish his teasing, pushing his chest, ‘Yes I had a crush on you! But that was a long time ago! Can you let it go?’

‘No’, Off smiled, winking at his best friend, ‘Because Gun Atthaphan has a big crush on me and I’m not gonna let that go’

‘Had! Had a big crush on you!’, Gun corrected him, pointing a finger.

‘Oh, so you admit that you had a big crush on me?’, Off smirked, winking at him when he caught Gun off guard, his cheeks reddening again, ‘I didn’t know you blush so easily’

‘God, I hate you so much’, Gun whined, pushing his chest again, ‘You’re so annoying’

‘Gun Atthaphan has a big fat crush on Off Jumpol’, the former kept on teasing him none the less, laughing and running away from Gun’s grips when he kept on pushing him.

‘Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!’, Gun kept shouting back, a pair of twenty-nine-year-olds chasing each other around the living room like a bunch of five-year-olds.

‘Did you secretly like me introducing you as my boyfriend?’, Off continued to tease him, sticking his tongue out and jumping on the sofa, ‘Did you introduce me as your boyfriend too?’

‘Off Jumpol, you better shut up before I make you!’, Gun threatened him, almost falling when Off stopped running away, Gun hitting his head on his chest.

‘Go on, make me’, Off smirked down on him, ‘Make me shut up’

‘You!’, Gun kicked his feet, hearing him whine a little and falling on him.

‘Alright love birds, you two better get a room’, Neen, Off’s cousin, walked into the living room with empty cups, seeing her cousin fooling around with his fiancé, ‘you better help out with lunch. They’re gonna fry some fish they caught yesterday over the campfire. You should at least pretend to help out’

‘You and I both know it’s a miracle that I even came’, Off rolled his eyes and turned back to his cousin, ‘I think my presence alone is enough for you guys’

‘Gosh, he’s so conceited isn’t he?’, Neen chuckled, turning to Gun and smiling at him, ‘Please tell me you can control this man? Sometimes I get nervous bringing my boyfriend over family events cos this idiot always does something embarrassing’

‘Your last boyfriend practically fell in love with me!’, Off shouted back, ‘You’re just jealous that I’m more loveable’

‘Have fun dealing with his ass’, Neen continued to talk to Gun, ‘He’s gonna be like that for the rest of his life, I guess’

‘And you better believe we’re gonna have fun’, Off bit back at her, resting his hands on Gun’s waist and bringing him closer, ‘go have fun talking about stocks with the others’

‘Go have fun acting like a kid!’, his cousin shouted back as she headed for the kitchen to grab more drinks.

‘You need to stop making this too real. Your family’s gonna hate me once they find out it’s not’

‘They won’t’, Off replied, ‘I’ll tell them it was all my fault. In a sense, it is, since I dragged you into this mess. But there’s always a silver lining in every situation, am I right?’

‘How so?’

‘Now I know you have a big fat crush on me’

‘Oh my god, shut the fuck up!’

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with the two of them bickering, making fun and insulting each other whilst they sat on the log around the campfire. The rest of his family laughed at the way they interacted, finding it cute that they could still be themselves and not care.

‘How did Off propose?’, Neen asked out of curiosity, ‘Auntie sent the photo in the group chat, but we still don’t know the full story’

‘Well, you know in usual fashion’, Off smiled at his family, ‘I was in the moment and when we went on holiday with our friends and I just thought it was the perfect moment to spend the rest of my life with him’

If Gun was stupid, he would believe every word from Off. He would let his heart skip a beat and his stomach to churn, but he knew the bastard just wanted free dessert that day, so he coughed it out and suppressed the rising emotion. Instead, he crouched a little, adding a marshmallow on the end of his stick and roasting it by the campfire.

‘And Gun, what got you to say yes to him?’, Neen turned to ask him, ‘Did you put a spell on you?’

‘No, I just wanted free dessert’, he mumbled.

‘What?’

‘What?’, Gun froze when Off’s family stared at him, ‘Did I say that aloud?’

‘Yes’, Off replied for him, trying not to laugh, ‘I think what he meant was he just wanted to get my proposal over and done with. It was long overdue anyway, so he just wanted to say yes and have fun for the rest of the weekend’

‘Well, that makes sense’, his mum snorted, ‘He’s been waiting since he was ten’

‘Ten, huh?’, Off raised a brow and turned his look at Gun with another smirk on his face.

‘Shut it’, he whispered back, stepping on his foot.

‘Gun, you should’ve at least gotten your money’s worth and made a big deal out of it’, Off’s dad pointed out whilst drinking his beer, ‘You should’ve forced Off to hire the entire beach and proposed to you’

‘Haha, I guess so’, Gun faked a laugh, coughing a little.

‘Off, darling you should’ve made it a little more special than that’, his grandma sighed, ‘I used to remember you talking about how much you were gonna go all out with your proposal’

‘That was when I was young’, Off snorted, ‘I used to think I was gonna major in films production too’

‘Why didn’t you?’, Neen asked suddenly, ‘I remember you being good at it’

‘Come on, be realistic Neen. Do you really think I was gonna get a job with that?’, Off chuckled, ‘I’m a pretty good lawyer and I’m definitely richer than you’, he stuck his tongue out at her.

‘She’s got a point though’, Gun joined in, chewing on the marshmallow and letting it melt in his mouth, ‘I remember you applying for film productions during Senior year and you just changed your mind’

‘Everyone changes their mind last minute’, Off shrugged, biting onto the barbecue his uncle made, ‘You wanted to do BioChem before switching to law’

‘That was because I couldn’t make up my mind’, Gun reminded him, ‘You were so dead set on film’

‘Well, they were only gonna accept me in Bangkok University if I chose law’, Off murmured, picking the meat off his stick.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Believe it or not, but that year, Films Productions was full but they said my grades were still good enough for another course at their college, so I chose Law’

‘Why?’, Gun asked, not knowing this at all, ‘You could’ve gone to another college that would offer you film’

‘Then we wouldn’t have gone to the same college’, Off replied.

‘Huh?’

All this time he had thought they’d coincidentally stayed together due to circumstances. He didn’t know Off was applying to the same colleges as him so they wouldn’t be apart, he didn’t even know Off would do that just for him. And now he’s thinking…

‘Please don’t tell me you did law just for me’, Gun asked him, his tone serious and slightly angry, making everyone force their conversations to stop when they looked at Gun.

‘They said they had a few spots left in law’

‘Bullshit’, Gun stopped him, ‘Law is even more competitive than Film. Tell me you didn’t do law because of me’

‘Look, they had a couple more spaces in other course, but they were all sciences and you know me. I’m not a science kinda guy, so I asked them if I could redo my college applications, would I be considered into the law course and they said yes’

‘So, you changed your course for me?’, Gun asked again, this time his expression angry.

‘Woah, why’re you pissed. Its’ my decision’

‘It’s your life!’, Gun shouted back, ‘You think I’d feel special that you would just give up on your dream just for me?!’

‘Look, I enjoy my job now, it’s no big deal’

‘And what if you didn’t?’, Gun asked, his eyes burning with so much more question, ‘What if you hated it? You would’ve wasted your tuition and your future on a shitty job that you hate because of me?’

‘Look, at the end of the day, it’s my decision and I’m happy with it’

‘But I’m not’, Gun didn’t where this Off was coming from and why he didn’t know about it. His best friend never let anything distract him from his goals let alone his dreams and he felt guilty for unknowingly taking that away from him, ‘I don’t wanna be the reason why you regretted not doing something’

‘Now you know how I feel’, Off raised his voice when Gun continued to gnaw at him over something he did almost a decade ago, rolling his eyes and throwing his stick to the ground, not caring that his whole family was present to hear their argument.

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Crush since you were ten? Pretend wedding? How do you think I feel knowing I made you feel miserable in high school. I didn’t know you did everything you could to get over me and I just sat around doing whatever I wanted, not knowing I probably made you feel like shit’

‘This is different’

‘Really? How so?’

‘Because feelings change, goddammit!’, Gun pushed him, ‘My feelings for your were gonna change anyway! Because it doesn’t last forever, especially when it’s not reciprocated!’

‘And dreams don’t last forever too’, Off defended himself, ‘I didn’t even know if I was gonna make it into film, so it all worked out for the best, didn’t it?’

But did it? Gun is sitting with Off’s family, pretending – yet again – to be Off’s but he knew he wasn’t. In reality, he was at a standstill, pausing his life just so he could spend a few more moments with Off before he knew the inevitable happened. Sooner or later they will move on with their life and find someone else to spend their stupid days with. His life was stagnant, choosing not to commit to any long term relationship, because deep down inside, he didn’t want anything to get in the way of what he and Off had, even if it was just a friendship.

‘Don’t you ever do something like that for me ever again’, Gun growled, standing up and walking away from the campfire, feeling an awkward tension that could be cut with a knife as Off’s family watched him leave into the forest.

‘Yikes’, his sister murmured, raising a brow at Off, ‘What was that?’

‘Nothing’, Off got up, walking the other way and heading inside the house. He didn’t feel like entertaining his family anymore and he just needed some time to think before his head exploded.

* * *

‘Sun’s going down’

Off’s sister knocked on his door, walking in the room where Off was laying on the bed, leaning his back against the headboard whilst getting indulged into his game. He knew there wasn’t going to be any signal, so he bought his Nintendo Switch to kill some time.

‘Get out of my room’, Off simply replied, not wanting to talk to his sister, especially if she’s only here to gloat.

‘There’s not much sunlight left and your husband’s still out there’, she said again, ‘He might get lost on his way back’

‘He’ll be fine’

‘Off, you know how big this forest is. For a first timer, he might not make his way back, so I suggest you go and fetch him’, his sister punched him on the leg hard, making him whine and stop his game as he glared at his sister.

‘You’re not thirteen anymore, you can’t just sulk when you get into a fight with him’, his sister reminded him, ‘You’re gonna get married and these argument will happen from time to time and you need to know how to deal with it’

‘Married’, Off snorted, ‘Sure’

‘Don’t use that tone’, she warned him, ‘You’re not seriously rethinking your engagement because of one petty fight’

‘We’re not getting married’, Off whined, feeling suffocated trying to keep up his lie, especially to his sister who knew him all too well.

‘Really? One fight and you’re out?’

‘No, I mean we were never going to get married’, Off shouted, throwing his Switch on the foot of his bed, ‘We’re not engaged’

‘What?’

‘I didn’t propose to him’, Off closed his eyes and massaged his temples, knowing his sister was gonna kill him once he explained the real story, ‘We were on holiday with our friends and I wanted free dessert so I pretended to propose to Gun and mum’s colleague must’ve recognised me and took a picture. Of course, we had to keep it up until we left the restaurant, but I didn’t think people thought it was serious’

‘Are you fucking kidding me right now?’, she asked him in a quiet tone, which was more scary than her angry one, knowing a storm would soon follow her calm demeanour. He slowly turned to look at his sister, pouting his lip and feeling like a kid again.

‘Mum didn’t believe it so I had to keep up a front and drag him here… It was only going to be for the weekend’

‘You made our whole family believe you were gonna get married to Gun because of free desserts?!’, she shouted and the wave finally came, Off’s sister grabbing a pillow and hitting him over and over again whilst shouting trails of curses at him.

‘I didn’t know what else to do!’, Off defended himself, raising his hand to try and grab the pillow back, but his sister was stronger.

‘How about tell the fucking truth and stop dragging Gun into your nonsense!’, she screamed at him, ‘You idiot! You absolute idiot!’

‘I’m sorry! It was only gonna be for the weekend!’

‘Weekend?’, she gasped, ‘Do you know mum and dad are already planning to book a venue?! They’re sorting out invites like idiots! This was always gonna be more than a week when you told mum you were engaged!’

‘I was gonna tell them the engagement was off in a few weeks! I promise!’

‘You idiot!’, she threw the pillow on the ground, glaring at his little brother who never seemed to grow up no matter how hard she prayed, ‘If you wanna do stupid shit, then you do you, but why drag Gun into it? Especially with how he feels about you? Do you like torturing him?’

‘I didn’t even know he had feelings for me!’, Off defended himself, ‘That was new information!’

‘Idiot! Imbecile! I can’t believe I have a clown for a brother’

‘I’m sorry!’, Off shouted back, ‘But what can we do now?’

‘Well, you can start by looking for Gun and apologise to him’, she pointed a finger at her brother, an accusing glare burning his skin, ‘And come back here so we can find a way to tell our parents of your stupidity!’

* * *

Gun was a quick learner. He always has been. He only needed to look at someone do things once before he tried it himself. Off didn’t know it, but he observed the way he pulled his weight to climb up the tree house and after a few tries, he managed to find himself at the same place his best friend had dragged him in the morning. Sunlight was still there, but it was scarce, slowly being engulfed by the dark blue skies of the night and he knew he should be getting a move back to the lake house before the day disappeared.

But he was too embarrassed. He had made a whole scene in front of Off’s entire family and he knew they were probably talking about his dramatic ass, so instead of going back, he decided to stay in the treehouse, hugging his legs as he rested his head on his knees.

Now thinking about it, he probably shouldn’t have overreacted, but he had supported Off with his endeavours. He even remembered staying up all night and helping him edit his final film project to submit to colleges and to think he would waste all that hard work just for him. It didn’t feel good. In fact, he felt even more guilty of all the times he turned Off down to hang out during lunch, or when he switched his modules last minute which meant he didn’t share the same classes with the former during second year.

He wondered how Off truly felt when he told him he was applying for a different law firm? Was he okay about it like what he said or did he feel disappointed that they weren’t going to work in the same place? Did Off ever plan on telling him?

Gun sneezed a little, the dust getting a little too much for him as he looked around.

‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down you hair!’

He flinched when he heard a loud voice shouting from below and he crawled to the window to see who it was, sighing in relief when he recognised Off looking up at him.

‘What’re you doing here?’

‘That’s my treehouse’, Off replied, ‘The question is, what’re you doing there?’

‘Trying to get away from your dumbass!’, Gun shouted back, earning a silence from Off who just looked at him feasibly.

‘Look, I’m sorry for being a dumbass!’, Off shouted back at him finally, clasping his hands beside his mouth, ‘I promise we’ll stop this now! I’ll confess to my parents about everything and we don’t need to keep a front anymore!’

‘That’s not all you need to apologise for!’

‘I said I’m sorry for being a dumbass! That should cover all the other shit I’ve done!’, Off shouted again, laughing when he saw Gun throw a pebble at him in anger, but he merely stepped out of the way, ‘Come on Gun! It’s getting late and you haven’t had dinner yet! Plus my parents are gonna kill me if I leave you out here the whole night!’

Gun wanted some peace and quiet but he knew he wasn’t going to get that now that Off’s arrived, so he took a deep breath and crawled out of the treehouse, ‘Fine! I’ll go! Just shut the fuck up!’, he shouted back.

‘Be careful! Your hands are still bandaged from the rope!’, Off reminded him, watching how Gun held onto the rope and slowly lifted himself down.

‘I’m fine!’, Gun shouted, looking at his feet as he slowly climbed down, making sure not to put too much pressure on his hands.

Gun greeted Off again once he landed on the ground, wiping his shirt from the dirt and dust as he stood facing his best friend who greeted him with a warm smile on his face despite their previous argument.

‘Are we over it now?’

Off always say that after they’ve had an argument. His best friend never liked leaving a fight to simmer into the next day, so wherever they were, he would always make sure to call Gun or knock on his door, begging they sort it out before the day ends.

‘Yeah, sure’, Gun replied, like he always does, not wanting to stay angry with Off too.

‘Do you wanna talk about it or should we just pretend it never happened?’

‘Again?’, Gun sighed, ‘Are we gonna pretend again?’

‘It’s your choice’, Off reminded him.

‘Why did you choose to go college with me when you could’ve gone somewhere else?’

‘Because I didn’t wanna lose you’, Off shrugged, ‘You should know that by now’

‘Did you apply to the same law firm as me?’, he asked again.

‘I thought about it’, Off admitted, scratching the back of his ears as he looked down, ‘But you were dating that guy you met at the bar’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Well, it got me thinking that I was probably clinging onto you too much and that might suffocate you, so I decided to give you your space and have my own. I guess it worked because we’re still inseparable’

‘You’re an idiot’, Gun chuckled, kicking his leg as he pushed pass him, walking back to the lake house.

‘You know, to be honest, I’ve known this feeling for quite some time now. I just didn’t know how to place it’, Off called back to him, catching up so they could walk together back at the lake house.

‘Place what?’, Gun asked as he kicked the stone out of the way.

‘My feelings for you’

‘What feelings?’, Gun scoffed, ‘You don’t have to pretend you have feelings for me to make me feel better. Like I said, I’m fine’

‘I’m not pretending’, Off furrowed his brow when Gun didn’t seem to be taking him seriously, ‘I know I love you, that much I can grasp. I mean, I’ve known that for a long time now’

‘Right’, Gun continued to laugh at him, because it was the only emotion he was able to make without wanting to rip Off’s head off. This was exactly why he didn’t wanna admit of his stupid feelings, because conversations like this was going to happen.

‘I love you’, Off repeated again and he stopped walking, watching Gun’s back.

‘Yeah, alright, you love me’, Gun shook his head laughing, turning to see that Off was no longer walking beside him, forcing him to stop and turn back to where his best friend stood, frozen to the ground and just staring at him.

‘I love you’, Off said again, ‘I just didn’t know I was in love with you’

‘I beg your pardon?’, Gun choked at the sudden confession, one which he did not see coming in a long shot.

‘Yeah, kinda weird saying out loud, right?’, Off buried his awkwardness with his usual charming laugh, ‘But you know me, I say shit without thinking about it’

‘Well, maybe this time you should’, Gun pointed out, ‘Because you’re messing with me now’

‘I told my sister we were pretending’, Off suddenly changed the subject, ‘She kicked me on the head and told me to come and fetch you so we can come clean to my family. Once we arrive back at the lake house, I have to tell everyone that you’re not my fiancé anymore’

‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

‘Well… It depends’, Off shrugged, ‘It got me thinking while I was looking for you’

‘About what?’

‘I liked being engaged to you’, Off whispered, biting his lip and looking down in embarrassment, ‘I mean, I know we were just faking but… I mean it was fun. It was nice and it didn’t feel weird thinking of spending the rest of my life with you’

‘Off, stop it’, Gun whispered, feeling his heart skip a beat at every word he said, ‘Don’t make me get my hopes up’

‘I don’t want to tell them that we’re faking it’, Off smiled apologetically, knowing he was probably opening up an old wound for Gun, but he was impulsive and selfish and when he finds out what he wants, he goes for it with no regret or care for the consequences. And when his sister told him he was going to break his lie with Gun and leave him alone, he suddenly realised why he was never really prepared to be apart from Gun, and it was more than just his eagerness to cling to his childhood best friend.

‘But… If you don’t want to, then I’ll admit that I forced you in on the lie. I won’t make you do anything you don’t wanna do anymore’

‘And what if I say go for it?’, Gun asked, ‘Are we actually going to get married for real?’

‘Why not?’

‘We haven’t even dated’

‘We’ve been together since we were babies’, Off chuckled, ‘All those times that I dragged you everywhere with me, can’t you consider them as dates?’

‘But they weren’t’

‘They are’, Off corrected him, ‘We were both together having fun and getting to know each other. Don’t you consider that as dates?’

‘You didn’t kiss me at the end of the night’, Gun whispered, feeling his chest tighten when Off took a step forward, walking towards him until they’re facing each other again, only inches apart.

‘We can start doing that from now on’, Off promised him, ‘If you want’

‘If this is one of your stupid pranks again, I swear I’ll never be your friend agai-’

Off dipped his head down, breaking Gun’s sentence and pressing his lips against the latter, his hand resting on his best friend’s waist.

_There it is._

The same world shattering feeling he felt when he kissed Gun the other night in front of his family. He thought it was the adrenaline kicking in, but when he felt Gun kissed back last night, it was like his heart exploded right there and then,

And it was the same now. Gun was surprised, yet kissing back, lifting his arm up to rest around his neck, tiptoeing as he kissed him back just as earnestly.

The sun was gone now, and they were covered in midnight blues, dark greens and browns, wrapped around the cold breeze of the settling night, but it was okay, because the flickering light from the lake house was enough to guide them back, so they can take their time getting to know each other again, their hands resting on the same arms but this time with different intentions as Off refused to let Gun go, parting his lips and letting his tongue roam inside.

‘Wait… Wait’, Gun pulled back, gasping for air as he looked down on his hands, ‘I dropped my ring this morning’

‘Like I said’, Off chuckled, pecking his lips, ‘We can get another one’

‘But I liked that one’, Gun whispered, making Off laugh even more as he leaned down to kiss his swollen lips one last time.

‘Then we’ll get the same one’

‘Are we seriously getting married?’, Gun sighed, not really knowing whether he was hallucinating, ‘We’ve only kissed three times’

‘It takes at least two years to plan a wedding’, Off chuckled, ruffling his hair like he always does, ‘I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time between’

‘Please tell me you’re not joking this time’

‘How may times do I have to say I’m not?’, Off rolled his eyes, leaning his shoulder on his arm as they began to walk back to the lake house, ‘Are you gonna keep asking me that till you walk down the aisle’

‘I can’t trust you with anything, you idiot’, Gun punched his stomach lightly, ‘You never take anything seriously’

‘But I’ve taken you seriously’, Off reminded him, ‘I never did anything I knew you wouldn’t agree on, even if some of my suggestions were out of this world’

A weekend. It took a weekend for two best friends to finally give up their façade and confess their feelings, but Off’s was the most random. Because no one knew that he’d been hiding his feelings from Gun, he didn’t know himself and it was only during the pass week did he realised why he felt more close with Gun then anyone else in the world.

‘But!’, Off shouted, grabbing Gun’s hand and stopping him from walking to the front door, ‘I need to ask you something before we tell my parents the truth’

‘What?’

‘Do you still love me? Like, pretend to have a wedding and dream of me as a groom type of love me?’

‘Fucking hell Off’

‘I’m not gonna ask you to marry me if you don’t feel like that anymore’, Off defended himself.

‘And how about you?’, Gun asked, folding his arms and glaring at Off, ‘Do you love me or do you think you love me because I’m your best friend?’

‘We could always find out tonight’, Off winked at him.

‘You’re a pig’, Gun punched his stomach, walking back to the front door only to be picked up by Off, easily lifting him over his shoulder as he ran to the lake in the middle of the night,’Off! No! No, no, no!’, he shouted as soon as he realised what Off was going to do, clinging on his best friend’s torso as he felt himself being dunked into the cold waters.

‘And here we see Gun in his natural habitat with his fishy friends’, Off joked, laughing as he splashed water on Gun, watching his best friend trying to fight back, a sad attempt at splashing water at him.

‘Off Jumpol! I hate you!’, Gun screeched, swimming over to hug Off’s torso, trying to get him to stop, but in the midst, he found himself laughing, pushing Off into the water as well.

‘What the hell is going on?!’, the lake house door open and the pair turned to see Off’s entire walking out of the house with their phone lights on, beaming it in their direction, ‘It’s the middle of the night!’, they heard Off’s mother shouting at them.

‘I’m getting married!’, Off shouted back to his mother, clapping the water around him and laughing.

‘We know darling! Now get back inside before you get a cold!’

‘Off!’, he heard his sister shouting to him, knowing that she was probably asking him why he was shouting that when they had just agreed to come clean, but he smiled to his sister, intertwining his hands with Gun’s and raising it from the waters.

‘Sis! I’m really getting married!’

‘You’re insane!’, she shouted back, but she watched as Gun dragged them back out of the water, laughing as he held onto Off’s waist and she couldn’t help but smile.

So, her brother really was getting married.

* * *

There was no signal the whole weekend so Off and Gun were silent in the group chat, missing Gunsmile’s introduction of his girlfriend or Oab’s morning work out routine that was passed along, but without Off’s clownery, the group chat was silent most of the weekend, with a few updates here and there from the gang about work or Tay’s upcoming wedding.

But, of course, Off had to break the peace as soon as he got signal on his phone.

**_The Clown Club:_ **

**_This dumb bitch: SHOTGUN WEDDING! EVERYONE’S INVITED!_ **

**_Newwie: oh no you fucking don’t_ **

**_Mild: Are you for real?_ **

**_Gunsmile: ???_ **

**_Oabnithi: wtf?_ **

**_Tay: Gun is he drunk?_ **

**_Gun: No he’s not._ **

**_Oabnithi: Wait are you drunk too?_ **

**_Gun: No, we’re actually getting married._ **

**_Tay: Off’s brainwashed Gun, we need to go down there now and pull him out._ **

**_Mild: Roger that._ **

**_This dumb bitch: No, he’s just in love with me ;)_ **

**_Gun: <3_ **


End file.
